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CAIS Advisory Council

The CAIS Advisory Council is the forum for key industry influencers to provide input on the future state of the CAIS platform and the key role it plays in the industry. Confirmed members of the CAIS Advisory Council include Barron’s top-ranked registered investment advisors, the nation’s largest RIA platforms, leading independent broker-dealers, globally recognized product managers, independent custodians, Silicon Valley technologists, and other key market participants.

Michael Bapis

Michael Bapis

Michael N. Bapis, Managing Director with Vios Advisors at Rockefeller Capital Management, brings over 20 years of wealth management and private banking experience to the practice.

Michael is dedicated to assisting clients and families, institutions and professional athletes and entertainers by providing knowledgeable insight and highly personalized client service. In utilizing global asset allocation concepts and tactical investment strategies, Michael works with clients and families to create financial portfolios that align with long-term goals and optimize their wealth.

Michael began his career at Morgan Stanley in 1998, where he spent time in various departments learning a wide array of skills and knowledge within the financial services industry. A year later in 1999, Michael became a financial advisor. During this time, he was promoted to a Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor and honored as a member of the prestigious Chairman’s Club — a group that highlights the top 150 advisors in the firm.

Michael joined Rockefeller Capital Management in September 2018. Prior to Rockefeller, Michael spent a decade at HighTower. Michael is considered a thought leader in the financial services industry, having regularly appeared on CNBC’s Trading Nation and Worldwide Exchange, Bloomberg TV and Yahoo Finance.

Karen Joy Bean

Karen Joy Bean

Kestra Investment Services, LLCVice President | Investment Products

Karen Joy Bean is the VP, Investment Products for Kestra Investment Services, LLC based in Austin, Texas. Karen is responsible for strategically leading the Alternative Investment Platform, Annuity and Variable Insurance Platforms, Trust Platform, Financial Planning Suite as well as Due Diligence oversight for the firm. Collectively Karen has over 25 years Sales and Marketing experience both in and out of Financial Services.

Karen’s Financial Services career began in 1997 when she joined the American Funds in Brea, CA. Over the 10 years she spent at the American Funds, Karen enjoyed success as an Internal Wholesaler, Sales Desk Manager and Retirement Subject Matter Expert.

Before joining Kestra, Karen was the Vice President of Internal Sales and Service for a non-traded REIT firm in Southern California. At the REIT firm, Karen was responsible for training and managing the Sales Desk, as well as training the External Wholesaling Force. She was also responsible for the oversight of the day to day customer service operations as well as subscription agreement compliance.

Karen is a Board member of the Investment Program Association and is active on the Due Diligence committee. She also actively serves on the Financial Services Institute, Due Diligence committee.

Karen has a Bachelor’s degree from California State University at Fullerton in Marketing with a Sales Management emphasis. She holds a 7, 24, 66 and 63 license.

Lee Beck

Lee Beck

Kudu InvestmentsManaging Partner

Lee is a Managing Partner at Kudu Investment Management (KIM), which offers tailored capital solutions for asset and wealth management firms globally. Through KIM’s capital partnership with Oaktree Capital Management and White Mountains Insurance Group, Lee and the team invest minority stakes designed to minimize disruption while providing strategic guidance for growth. In addition to Lee’s role at KIM, he frequently guest lectures at universities in the United States and Europe.

Over the prior fifteen years, Lee led distribution and related execution teams at some of the worlds most successful investment management firms, including BlackRock, JP Morgan and PIMCO, where he also served on various executive, operating and global investment committees.

Before becoming an executive leader, Lee was an institutional and middle market account manager for Federated and PIMCO, covering Fortune 1000 companies, Governmental Entities and separate account relationships. Lee began his career as a university coach and assistant professor.

Lee earned an MA in Foreign Literature and Languages from the University at Albany, an MBA in Finance from Daniels College of Business at The University of Denver and was a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado. His quest for knowledge drives his ongoing education.

Lee lives in Princeton, NJ and NYC with his three sons and serves with several charities that seek to protect at-risk youth and promote better inner-city education. His passions and hobbies include surfing remote regions of the world, writing and working with his sons academic and athletic programs.

Michael Brabant

Jefferies' Wealth Management GroupHead of Business Development and Managing DirectorRead BioLinkedIn

Michael Brabant

Jefferies' Wealth Management GroupHead of Business Development and Managing Director

Mike is Head of Executive Financial Services for Jefferies’ Wealth Management Group and is the senior member of the firm’s top wealth management team in New York. Mike has been honored as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in New York in the Barron’s annual rankings multiple times during his career. He also was recognized by Barron’s as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors nationwide in 2015. Prior to Jefferies, Mike was a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management Group at Deutsche Bank, and a Director in the Wealth Management Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. He started his wealth management career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, which was acquired by Credit Suisse in 2000. At CSFB, in addition to leading one of the top wealth management teams, Mike served as New York Branch Manager in 2001 and 2002. Prior to CSFB/DLJ, Mike was in a variety of roles in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Prior to business school, he designed radar systems for Hughes Aircraft Corporation in Los Angeles. Mike received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from U.C. Berkeley and his MBA from Columbia University Business School.

David Copeland

David Copeland

Strategic Wealth PartnersPrincipal

David has been helping clients with their financial affairs since 1981. He founded Strategic Wealth Partners in 2008 after serving as Senior Managing Director with Mesirow Financial for 21 years. He has also held investment positions with Merrill Lynch and commercial banking positions with the Harris Bank.

David has applied his many years of investment experience to the development of the firm’s investment philosophy. He is committed to imparting and managing a consistent philosophy among the SWP team and making sure that all client recommendations reflect this philosophy. David realizes that, by nature, calling short-term market moves can be
treacherous. It is more important to focus on what types of risks can be expected.

David will go the extra mile to build custom solutions for clients that are best suited to their individual situations. Rather than focusing on the pure return portion of a manager’s track record, he believes clients will benefit most from strategies based on consistency. Those strategies are only discovered through due diligence and investment experience.

David is passionate about helping others succeed by continually deepening his knowledge base. He actively exchanges opinions and insights with other industry professionals. Currently, he serves on the Advisory Board for CAIS, a leading alternative investment platform for independent RIAs. He is an active participant, and has been a presenter, at the annual Focus Financial CIO meetings. He has also served on the PIMCO Advisory Board and J.P. Morgan Advisory Council. In addition to advising clients, he is a committee member of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JFMC/JUF) and board member of the LaRabida Children’s Hospital Foundation. Additionally, he serves as chairman of the Northmoor Education Foundation and is a member of the board of directors of the Northmoor Country Club.

Justin Ferri

As a member of the board of directors and chairman of Buckingham Strategic Wealth, Justin focuses on forward-looking strategies, vision and growth for our advisory teams and client experiences.

Prior to joining Buckingham, Justin was a managing director with Focus Financial Partners, responsible for business development and acquisition activities with an emphasis on identifying and partnering with top advisors and independent RIA firms. Justin was also responsible for co-heading the firm’s Central region and providing existing partner firms with strategic guidance and support for organic and acquisition-based growth initiatives. In addition, Justin led select investment activities for the holding company and across the Focus partnership.

Before joining Focus, Justin served as managing director and the global head of Merrill Lynch’s Alternative Investments division, where he held the position of president and chief executive officer of three registered investment advisors. Leading a team of more than 140 origination, investment, distribution, marketing, operations, legal and compliance professionals, Justin was accountable for the oversight and management of more than 200 public and private real estate funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, managed futures funds, hybrid funds, and special purpose investment vehicles. In addition to his daily operating responsibilities, Justin also served as one of Merrill Lynch’s business regulatory liaisons, spending significant time with the office of the comptroller of the currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Reserve, and the Department of the Treasury. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 2002, Justin held leadership positions at mPower Advisors, LLC, and J.P. Morgan & Co. where he was responsible for quantitative modeling and fintech development.

Gary Gallagher

Gary Gallagher

Fidelity InstitutionalHead of Investment and Managed Solutions

Gary Gallagher is Head of Investment and Managed Solutions for Fidelity Institutional Investments and Technology Solutions, which offers clearing, custody and investment management products to help financial professionals, institutions and other intermediaries service their clients and grow their businesses. Fidelity Institutional is a $2 trillion asset division of Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals, institutions and financial intermediaries.

Mr. Gallagher joined Fidelity Institutional in September 2011 and is responsible for developing the long-term vision and strategy for FI’s investment product offerings, providing leadership for the enhancement of the investment product line and managing its overall product roadmap. He oversees the firm’s offering involving mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, managed accounts, crypto currencies and digital advice solutions.

Mr. Gallagher most recently served as executive vice president, Product & Platform Development for LPL Financial in Boston beginning in 2007. In his role, he was responsible for directing product strategy, leading strategic assessments and managing the implementation of investment products and platforms. He also held the role of executive vice president, RIA Services there and led the firm’s entry into the RIA market. Prior to his time at LPL, Mr. Gallagher spent 12 years working at Fidelity Investments in various capacities, most recently acting as senior vice president, Product Management within Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services (IWS). In this role, he was responsible for product management and development activities for Fidelity’s registered investment advisor business.

Before joining Fidelity, Mr. Gallagher held product management and marketing positions with Citibank and worked in the financial services division of KPMG.

Mr. Gallagher received a bachelor of business administration from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA in general management from the University of Michigan Ross Business School.

David Harris

David Harris

U.S. Capital AdvisorsSenior Managing Director

Mr. Harris is a Senior Managing Director with U.S. Capital Advisors, responsible for over $900 million in assets for high net worth clients. He has more than three decades of professional experience in managing complex financial strategies emphasizing capital preservation while maximizing long-term appreciation.

Honors include Financial Advisor of the Year (Financial Advisor Magazine), Barron’s Top 1000, and he has been recognized as one of Houston’s top three wealth managers by the Houston Business Journal. His articles have been published by the Financial Times of London, Research, Ticker, and Financial Planning magazines. He has been interviewed by publications ranging from L’Economie to the Houston Chronicle and Sacramento Bee, and has appeared as a financial expert on television and radio.

David attended Swarthmore College and Kalamazoo College and earned his CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst®) certification from the Wharton School of Business. He enjoys music, exercise, travel, and spending time with his wife and two daughters. He is active in numerous non-profit organizations in Houston.

Aaron Hodari

Aaron Hodari

Schechter Investment Advisors, LLCManaging Director

Aaron Hodari, CFP, CIMA, is a Managing Director of Schechter Wealth. Aaron Hodari works with high net worth individuals, families, business owners, and their advisors to bring them institutional quality investment management and advanced financial planning solutions. Aaron heads the firm’s branch of Private Capital, including deal sourcing, due diligence, deal structuring, and market opportunity identification. He’s also instrumental in the development of correlated and non-correlated investment alternatives, helping identify investment allocations, and manager selection. He is a sought-after speaker regarding the tax advantages for hedge funds within Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and Private Placement Variable Annuity (PPVA).

Prior to joining Schechter, Aaron worked at BlackRock Financial Management, New York, NY in the Institutional Account Management group where he managed relationships with institutional investors including pension funds, foundations & endowments, and family offices. While there, he specialized in customized fixed-income solutions, commodities, and hedge funds.

Aaron graduated from the University of Michigan, where he majored in economics and played lacrosse. He currently sits on the school’s Dean’s Young Alumni Council. He can be reached at ahodari@schechterinvestments.com.

David W. Karp

David W. Karp

PagnatoKarpFounding Partner

David Karp is Founding Partner at PagnatoKarp, an independent wealth specialist firm based in Reston, VA with over $3 billion in assets under advisement*. He has more than 25 years of experience providing sound financial investment and wealth strategies. David is the primary point of contact for Family Office clients of PagnatoKarp whom he has successfully advised through portfolio creation, implementation, due diligence and ongoing management. He also provides business owners with private and direct investment diligence, negotiation, and structuring.

David and his 20+ person team previously worked through HighTower Advisors and before that, he spent 15 years with Merrill Lynch where he was part of the Washington, D.C. office of the Private Banking & Investment Group. Prior to Merrill Lynch, David’s tenure includes time with Morgan Stanley as a private portfolio manager, Jeffries & Company as an investment banking associate, and Oppenheimer & Company as an equities research analyst.

In 2014, David was recognized as a fiduciary and quoted in Tony Robbins’ best-selling book, MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom, on the importance of the fiduciary standard in financial advisor/client relationships.

In the community, David was a Founding Board Member for the Spookstock Foundation, whose mission is to provide support to the families of officers from the US special forces and intelligence communities who have died in the line of duty. In 2016, David helped PagnatoKarp to build a “Home of Hope” in the Dominican Republic for a family in need. He is also active locally with the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, The Langley School, and The McLean School.

A recipient of The Abby Joel Butler Scholarship at American University, David attended the Kogod School of Business. He is a member of the Washington D.C. Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and lives in Great Falls, Virginia with his wife and children.

*as of 12/30/17

Dayna Kleinman

Dayna Kleinman

Dayna Kleinman joined Baird in 2002 and has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. As the Senior Product Manager, she covers and oversees multiple products in the Alternative Investment space, such as HFs/FoHFs, Private Equity, Managed Futures, Structured Products, and concentrated stock solutions. She is responsible for various aspects of Baird’s Alternative platform including product development, education, marketing and due diligence.

In her Key Account Relationship role, Dayna works with the national account managers at Baird’s strategic partner firms; primarily mutual fund families, insurance companies and retirement plan companies. She serves as their main point of contact for key initiatives, service expectations and pertinent business data. In addition, she manages the organization and distribution of thought leadership and secures their involvement in Baird’s national events.

Before her current role, Dayna was responsible for marketing and product development for the Fixed Income department at Baird, working with the traders and research; providing both account reviews and portfolio proposals. Prior to joining Baird, Dayna was the Regional Manager for Municipal Bond Marketing at Merrill Lynch.

Dayna has also been involved in many Baird corporate inclusion and diversity initiatives, such as serving as co-chair for the Women’s Associate Resource Group advisory board and facilitating new associate culture orientation programs.

Dayna earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ithaca College, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from DePaul University. She holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, 66, 53, 3, 31 and 24 licenses.

Dayna is married with two children, residing in downtown Chicago. Outside of work and family time, Dayna enjoys working out and being a Chicago sports fan. She also serves on the Ithaca College School of Business Advisory Council.

As part of the Financial Services and Products team, Mark is responsible for due diligence and oversight of BB&T Scott & Stringfellow’s hedge funds, managed futures, exchange funds and private equity offerings. He brings more than 22 years of financial services experience to the role, and has specialized in alternative investments for the past 16 years.

Prior to joining BB&T Scott & Stringfellow in 2016, Mark held several notable strategic marketing and product management positions. He spent seven years as the national accounts manager for a nationally recognized alternative investments firm, which allocated more than $1 billion to hedge funds and Commodity Trading Advisors. Mark also served as a consultant to a managed futures firm that pioneered the modern landscape for alternative investment mutual funds. From 2002 until 2008, Mark was the alternative investments marketing manager for the nation’s 3rd largest broker-dealer, where he trained financial advisors and supported their needs regarding hedge funds, private equity, managed futures and commodity funds.

Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mary Washington. He holds Series 7, 3, 65, 63 and 30 securities registrations.

Jonathan Lee

Jonathan Lee

The Colony GroupDirector of Private Strategies

Jonathan is Director of Private Strategies and Principal at The Colony Group. He is responsible for manager selection, due diligence and oversight of the firm’s hedge fund, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and other non-public investments. Previously, Jonathan was an Investment Analyst at Prosper Advisors, where he focused on investment research, due diligence, and portfolio construction and served on the firm’s investment committee. Before Prosper, he held an analyst role at an institutional asset management company based in New York. There, he assisted in fund development focused primarily on leveraged loans, asset-backed securities, and structured credit. Jonathan earned a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University.

Deron McCoy

Deron McCoy

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLCChief Investment Officer

Deron McCoy, CFA, CFP®, CAIA, AIF® is the Chief Investment Officer at SEIA and has served on the firm’s Investment Committee since 2001. As managing director of SEIA’s Department of Investment Management & Economic Strategy (DIMES), Mr. McCoy has duties that are varied and include acting as Head Portfolio Manager on the firm’s discretionary accounts as well as leading the research team in developing the global macro strategy, ultimately incorporated into the firm’s investment models and asset allocation strategies. Mr. McCoy also coordinates the investment due diligence and manages search processes.

Mr. McCoy received his Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematics-Applied Science with a specialization in Economics and Business Management from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1995. He has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner under the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. since 1998, and has held the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation issued by the CFA Institute in 2002, thereby making Mr. McCoy one of only 940 active CFA® charter holders to hold both the CFA® and CFP® designations. He also has held the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation since 2009 and has been an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) as of 2011.

Mr. McCoy currently resides in Pacific Palisades, California with his wife and two children.

Stephen G. Meyer

Stephen G. Meyer

Steve Meyer is the President and Head of SEI’s Investment Manager Services division, which is dedicated to providing the advanced operating infrastructure and comprehensive operational outsourcing solutions needed by asset managers, asset owners and family offices to successfully compete. In this role, Steve is responsible for driving the unit’s global strategy of providing front-, middle- and back-office platform solutions to the array of products and strategies investment managers may offer, enabling them to gain scale and efficiency and keep pace with marketplace demands. Steve is an Executive Vice President of SEI and a member of SEI’s executive committee.

Prior to taking on this position, Steve was the Managing Director of SEI – Global Fund Services Limited. In this role, which he had held since 1996, he was responsible for SEI’s global and alternative investment administration and shareholder servicing activities. Previous SEI experience included acting as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for SEI’s fund services business. He was also instrumental in establishing SEI’s Dublin office as the company’s European fund servicing center as well as starting the Alternative Funds business at SEI.

Qualified as a Certified Public Accountant, he also worked for the Vanguard Group and Coopers and Lybrand. He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance from La Salle University.

David K. Murdock, Jr.

David K. Murdock, Jr.

Bordeaux Wealth AdvisorsCo-Founder and Managing Partner

David is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bordeaux Wealth Advisors, a Menlo Park Registered Investment Advisory firm entrusted to manage over $2 Billion of client assets. He currently serves on the firm’s Tax/Financial/Estate Planning and Technology Committees and is the Co-Chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining BRF, David was a Senior Advisor for Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, Partner of Silvercrest Asset Management, Managing Director of Northern Trust Company, and also a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young. David brings over 25 years of experience specializing in providing clients with holistic wealth management and investment advisory solutions to individuals, small business owners, corporate executives and owners of professional services firms. Worth magazine named David one of the Top 100 Global Wealth Advisors in their annual survey for both 2007 and 2008.

David received an MBA with honors from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his BS from Kansas University. He holds the following professional designations and licenses: the Certified Financial Planner™, the Certified Investment Management AnalystSM, as well as the Chartered Life Underwriter. Dave is also a member of the Financial Planning Association, the Investment Management Consultants Association and the CFA Institute.

James K. Patrick IV

James K. Patrick IV

Mr. Patrick, Group President, Envestnet | PMC, provides the leadership and strategic vision for the delivery and development of Envestnet’s investment capabilities, including enterprise CIO solutions, investment research & due diligence, advisor consulting services and managed investment products. Jim also sits on the Executive Leadership Team of Envestnet Wealth Solutions, helping to guide the future growth of Envestnet’s wealth management solutions, serving RIAs, broker dealers, banks and other financial institutions.

Prior to joining Envestnet, Mr. Patrick was the Co-Head of U.S. distribution for Allianz Global Investors and affiliated firms, including PIMCO, having joined Nicholas Applegate in 1997. Mr. Patrick is a founder and Board Member of Cavendish Global and the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard based in Washington, D.C. He also serves on the board of the Basset Medical Center in Cooperstown, NY, the Otsego County Conservation Association and the University of New Hampshire College of Liberal Arts board.

Mr. Patrick received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire. He holds the FINRA Series 7, 24, 26 and 63 securities registrations and the Series 65 investment advisor registration.
Mr. Patrick is married with three children, and serves as a volunteer with the Sugarloaf Ski Resort ski patrol.

Andrew Putterman

Andrew Putterman

1812 Park, LLC | FortigentCEO, 1812 Park; Founder, Fortigent

My firm, 1812 Park, leverages my skills and experience over the past 30 years as a President, CEO and entrepreneur in the wealth management industry. I am an executive team member for approximately ten companies to help guide CEOs, executive teams and Boards in developing and executing on their long-term strategies and business plans.

In my past, I have helped build two high-value, high-profile companies – Fortigent and Lydian Wealth Management. Fortigent was a leading Turnkey Asset Management Program (TAMP) focusing on advisors with high-net-worth practices. With approximately $70 billion of assets under advisement on its platform, Fortigent was sold to LPL Financial in April 2012. Lydian was an RIA specializing in wealth management solutions to the ultra-high-net worth community. With over $8 billion of assets and an average client size of approximately $45 million, LWM was sold to CitiNational Bank of Los Angeles in 2007 to spearhead the bank’s wealth management practice.

I serve as a member of the Board of Advisors of Vestigo Ventures, a venture capital firm launched to fund early-stage companies offering disruptive innovations in financial technology services and Silver Lane Advisors, a premier investment bank focused exclusively on the financial services industry.

I am an investor in and/or advisor to a group of technology companies that, I believe, will impact the way wealth management firms engage their clients and how they run their back offices (Advizr, Betterment, and Quovo).

I am also an independent board member for eleven SEC registered actively managed ETFs.

Member Young Presidents Organization (YPO)

Joanna Rees

Joanna Rees

WestManaging Partner

Joanna Rees is a Managing Partner at West, a venture studio that specializes in the end-to-end process of designing, building, and launching purpose-driven brands. West invests in bold ideas and transforms visionary companies into category leaders.

Joanna currently serves on the corporate board of FICO (NYSE: FICO), Care.com (NYSE: CRCM), Tentrr, Prelude Fertility, Mursion and Hickies. Joanna is also a Senior Advisor of the B Team. Previously, Joanna led the formation and capital raise for Endeavor Catalyst, an impact investment fund supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Joanna was a candidate for Mayor of San Francisco in November 2011.

Joanna was the founder of VSP Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies combining technical innovation with market development. Joanna has served on the board of more than 25 venture-backed companies across a broad range of industries She also served on the Board of the National Venture Capital Association (“NVCA), the Coppola Companies (Francis Ford Coppola), and as Chairman of the USA for Madrid-based FON. Joanna was the co-creator of the Build Brand Value CEO forum which she ran from 1997 to 2003 as part of VSP Capital. Joanna has significant experience in finance and investment banking including positions at BA Securities and a boutique merchant bank, Vrolyk & Co. Joanna held several senior marketing management positions with Groupe Danone, a $20+ billion global consumer products firm, and began her career at the advertising agency DMB&B.

The World Economic Forum selected Joanna as a Global Leader for Tomorrow (GLT). The Aspen Institute selected Joanna for its Henry Crown Fellows. Joanna serves on the non-profit board of Endeavor Global and The Representation Project. Joanna is a seminar moderator for the Aspen Institute. She is also a Senior Mentor for the Henry Crown Fellowship. She earned her MBA from Columbia University (beta gamma sigma) and a BS from Duke University where she was a member of the gymnastics team.

Jennie Sowers

Jennie Sowers

Kore Private WealthPartner

Making connections – among people, relevant information and ideas, and opportunities – is Jennie’s motivator. Building relationships inside and outside Kore Private Wealth, she is in tune with the nuances of personalities and needs, skills and strategies, asking lots of questions and listening to pinpoint relevant solutions.

At the start of her career, Jennie was all about bond trading. She served on the taxable fixed income trading desk at Paine Webber (now UBS), then as divisional vice president managing the northeast division. She met Eric Bodner at Paine Webber, then eventually moved to Merrill Lynch with her Bodner Sax colleagues in 2009. Her deep knowledge of bonds and their mechanics enabled her to become a go-to resource for many clients of the team. Those bond discussions eventually evolved into more comprehensive investment discussions, helping her segue easily into client relations. As her team’s business grew, she also took on business development and operations. A few years ago, she began concentrating exclusively on building the business and client relationships, especially supporting female clients to empower them in their financial lives.

Cara Williams

Cara Williams

MercerGlobal Leader-Financial Intermediaries and Family Offices

Cara Williams, Senior Partner, is Global Leader for Financial Intermediaries and Family Offices. Located in London, Cara develops and drives the strategy for Mercer’s work with financial intermediaries, wealth management firms and family offices globally. She ensures clients’ needs are appropriately met with a wide array of solutions from market insights, manager research, asset allocation to deal sourcing and establishment of investment platforms and solutions. Cara presents regularly on global investment trends in wealth management as well as on Mercer’s When Women Thrive platform for Financial Services.
With over 22 years of experience in the pensions and investment industry, Cara began at Mercer’s investment consulting business as Global COO in April 2005. Before joining Mercer in the UK, Cara held roles in New York with Merrill Lynch Investment Management, and also for the French bank, CDC, where she oversaw European sales for their Investment Management group. Cara began her career in finance as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in New York. Prior to working in the investment industry, she was responsible for budgets and logistics for US Army and NATO MWR deployments. Cara is also an active mentor for external programs supporting and promoting women in their careers.

Cara graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a BA, and from The University of Hartford with an MBA in Finance.